After making a stop in Bangkok in early October, the Only Watch 2017 world tour is in Taipei today and will travel to New York and Los Angeles before rounding off in Geneva with the exhibition taking place from Nov 9-11 at the Four Seasons Hôtel des Bergues.
The one-of-a-kind watches will then be auctioned to raise funds for Association Monégasque contre les Myopathies (AMM) in driving research on Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), which affects approximately one in 3,500 males at birth worldwide.
Symptoms such as a decline in muscle strength usually appear between the age of four and six, and afflicted boys are confined to a wheelchair by the age of 12. Few individuals with DMD live beyond their 30s.
The biennial charity auction will have Christie's offering the 50 lots to international watch connoisseurs, who can bid in person, via the internet or by phone.
Donors range from long-established Swiss maisons to less familiar watchmaking ateliers, who bring their one-off timepiece specifically created for the 7th edition of the Only Watch or a unique piece of an iconic model.
For the first time, more than half of the participating brands offer a memorable experience to successful bidders, such as a visit at their workshops, a private lunch/dinner, meeting brand ambassadors and walking the red carpet at prestigious film festivals.
Here are seven of the philanthropic editions dedicated to the fight against DMD.
Piaget Black Tie Vintage Watch
Pop-art icon, Andy Warhol was among famed owners of the 1950s Black Tie, whose cushion-shaped case showcased Piaget's goldsmithing prowess, with the superimposed matt and shiny surfaces creating greater depth.
The unconventional shape combines with audacious colours in the Black Tie Vintage inspiration watch gleaming in a yellow-gold case -- the colour recalling the theme of this year's edition of the Only Watch.
Powered by Piaget 534P automatic movement, it's as much an amulet as a timepiece since the hard stone dial in brown pietersite, known as the Tempest Stone, is highly charged in energy, believed to help protect wearers.
Patek Philippe Reference 5208T-010 in titanium
A minute repeater, a mono-pusher chronograph and an instantaneous perpetual calendar teamed up for the Triple Complication introduced in 2011.
Reworked in titanium, the grand complication watch is powered by a self-winding mechanism, whose 719 parts are hand-finished in accordance with Genevan watchmaking tradition. A hand-guilloched motif further adorns the platinum micro-rotor, visible through a sapphire-crystal display back.
The same carbon-fiber pattern appears on the blue dial of the 42mm timepiece matched with a sporty blue Cordora strap.
Enticing bidders, the unique piece is paired with the experience of visiting the Patek Philippe museum and workshops along with a private lunch with its president, Thierry Stern.
Chopard Superfast 8 Hz Power Control Porsche 919 Only Watch 2017
With a 60-hour power reserve, the 45mm titanium unique piece is powered by Calibre 01.11-M certified by COSC (Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute). Operating at a high frequency of 8Hz enables greater precision, as well as faster running resumption in case of shocks or disturbances that are also frequent in motorsports.
Visible through a sapphire crystal dial, the movement boasts characteristic engine-type finishing, openworked oscillating weight, and bridges worked out like air vents of a high-performance engine.
A collaboration with Jacky Ickx, it bears his signature and 20 referencing the number on the winning Porsche 936 in the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race in 1976. The colour of his helmet additionally has been transferred to the midnight blue dial. The highest bidder also gets to meet the motor-racing legend at the Monaco Historique GP 2018.
Slim d'Hermès L'Heure Impatiente Only Watch Edition
La Montre Hermes' creative watchmaking responds to how one anxiously waits for a special moment through the "impatient hour" complication.
Powered by self-winding H1912 movement, the 40.5mm titanium timepiece allows setting the time of a moment taking place within 12 hours. An hour beforehand, a retrograde dial makes the countdown from 60 to zero, ending with the velvety-smooth sound of the striking mechanism.
The impatient hour sector is located on the lower half of the black dial with a powdered silvered minute circle and transferred Arabic numerals in charcoal-grey apart from 12 standing out in yellow, which is also an accent on the graphite matte alligator strap.
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Only Watch
This poetic 41mm Royal Oak boasts a "skylight" blue dial with a Grande Tapisserie pattern evoking the last moments of light cast by the sun as darkness descends on the evening sky.
Polished counters are in solid grey gold, with an orange–tinted photo realistic moon on the sub-dial with the brand name at 6 o'clock.
The dial's transition from blue, orange and silver dusk falls into pitch black of the hand-finished ceramic case, crown, bezel and bracelet. The material extends to the case back whereas titanium is used for making this watch part in other black ceramic perpetual calendars.
Its sapphire display reveals the Calibre 5134 and a unique hand-finished black oscillating mass.
Arnold & Son Time Pyramid Only Watch
Inspired by John and Roger Arnold's regulators created over 200 years ago and by antique British skeleton clocks, Time Pyramid showcases watchmaking feats including regulator, skeleton, vertical linear movement, pyramid-placement of components and multidimensional depth.
The contemporary execution is an almost blacked-out model, from the black DLC treatment of the stainless steel case and the black ADLC coating of the skeletonised and symmetrical calibre A&S1615 with haute horlogerie finishing.
Striking red accents on the 44.6 mm timepiece include Roman numerals, hour and minute hands on the sapphire dial as well hands of the power reserve indicators and stitching on the anthracite alligator strap.
Chanel J12 XS
Transferring haute-couture to fine watchmaking, Chanel Horlogerie redesigned its iconic J12 introduced in 2000 as a stylish timepiece resting on a calfskin cuff, hand stitched with black glass beads by Paris-based Maison Lesage, who has been creating opulent embroidery since 1924.
The embroidery along with baguette-cut diamonds on the bezel makes it a dazzling unique piece. The Swiss-made 19mm watch further boasts a black onyx dial shining on a white-gold and black high-tech ceramic case.
The highest bidder will get this mini J12, as well as a pass to Chanel's Ready to Wear fashion show in March 2018, and the experience of visiting a Parisian palace.
The Only Watch Auction will take place on Nov 11, 2:30pm (UTC+1), Geneva at Four Seasons Hôtel des Bergues. Visit www.onlywatch.com.
